Traditional reduced-calorie, low-solids fruit spread products are inherently low in sweetness intensity, poor in sweetness quality and possess a number of textural defects in comparison to their full-calorie counterparts. These defects are characterized by a grainy, brittle, thin texture which lacks the desired spreadability and mouthfeel associated with full-calorie, high-solids products. Carbohydrate sweeteners such as sucrose provide many of the desired textural and flavor attributes. Likewise, traditional low calorie, artificially sweetened fruit spread products possess many of the same textural and flavor defects as the low-sugar products.
High methoxy pectins are used in conventional full calorie high-solids fruit spread products. These pectins are stable to low pH and high temperature conditions; however, they do not gel in the absence of high solids. Most artificially sweetened and low-sugar fruit spread products (which have lower solids content than full calorie spreads because of the reduced sugar content) utilize low methoxy pectin (set with calcium) or carrageenan as the gelling agent. However, textural defects are apparent in products formulated with these gelling agents.
The use of conventional hydrocolloid systems such as carrageenan and low methoxy pectin in reduced calorie (low solids) fruit spreads only provide a gel structure of poor body and mouthfeel. Conventional low-solids formulations do not match the textural quality of high-solids products.
Over the past few years, several reduced-calorie aspartame sweetened fruit spreads have become commercially available. There is significant room for improvement in the storage stability and organoleptic properties of these products. Traditional full calorie fruit spreads usually have pH values of about 3.0-3.2. The commercially available aspartame fruit spreads have pH values of about 3.6-3.7, because at the traditional pH values aspartame would lack sufficient stability to have a reasonable shelf life. However, at the higher pH of 3.6-3.7, for grape products in particular, the characteristic tartness/flavor profile exhibited by traditional products at a pH of 3.0-3.2 is lacking. Also, at the higher pH values, color stability is decreased for certain fruit spreads such as grape jelly. The presently available aspartame-containing spreads, even at the higher pH, are less than fully acceptable because of poor sweetener stability, poor flavor, and (regardless of the pH) poor textural properties.
In the U.S., saccharin also is available in a number of reduced calorie fruit spreads. Saccharin products have good stability; however, they often have a bitter, lingering aftertaste and poor textural qualities.
It is an objective of the invention to provide reduced-calorie, reduced-solids fruit spread products which approach the overall organoleptic quality to full-calorie, high-solids products. This objective is accomplished by use of a multi-component gum system in combination with one or more high intensity sweeteners selected from the group consisting of aspartame; saccharin; acesulfame-K; mixtures thereof; and mixtures of aspartame, saccharin, or acesulfame-K with sucralose. The multi-component hydrocolloid system provides the desired textural attributes that have been missing from the heretofore available reduced calorie fruit spreads.